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Dear Spectrum Colleagues:

My name is Eric Larson and I am an independent board certified (ABA) staff anesthesiologist working at Spectrum Health Hospitals in Grand Rapids, MI. I finished my initial certification in anesthesiology through the American Board of Anesthesiology in 2005 and then completed my first MOC cycle in 2015.

Unfortunately, as you probably know, the various specialty medical boards (ABMS) have become gigantic money making non-profit machines raking in millions of dollars a year at the time and expense of the physicians in the field. Meanwhile, these CEOs often make high six and seven figure salaries running a certification scheme where physicians have felt they have no choice but to comply to maintain their hospital credentials.

Currently, Spectrum Health medical staff bylaws state that physicians have to be board certified or board eligible through an ABMS program. That means all physicians have to pay the fees for testing, additional CMEs, quality studies, etc. which usually add up to an excess of $10,000 per ten year cycle. It is time for us to say enough is enough and urge the medical staff at Spectrum Health to help us get out from under these onerous boards and focus our time and energy on our patients.

I encourage you to sign the petition below which I will present at a future medical executive leadership meeting asking that the requirement for ABMS board certification be removed from our hospital’s bylaws and allow other credentialing bodies including, but not limited to, the NBPAS to serve as alternatives.

Once we have at least 150 physician signatures, we will present our request to the medical executive committee at Spectrum Health.